The Wolfe and the Detective
by myheartbelongstoaboywithalimp
Summary: Karen Wolfe is a single mother of two, having moved to Broadchurch to escape her dark past, she's shocked when Danny Latimer is murdered. DI Hardy takes on the case and treats everyone as a suspect and Karen is no exception. . until her past catches up with her. What will happen to her reputation and her family? Can she employ DI Hardy's help despite his suspicion of her? Alec.H/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** If you don't like the character, pairings or plot, then don't read. There is a slight AU to the story and to some of the characters even though I tried and I'm also sorry for the different ways I say/write things. I know things are different in the UK and I'm from Australia, but I'll try to mind it._

 _ **DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Broadchurch._

 _ **WORD COUNT:** 2, 048 (Not including A/N below)_

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1_**

 ** _Suspecting or Questioning?_**

* * *

Karen Wolfe was a make-up artist, had two children, owned her own store which was a make up store as well as SFX make-up for Halloween. She had done countless latex prosthetic's for her 15-year-old daughter, Robyn and she was also single mother for three years, having left her husband after thirteen years. Her youngest child was Thomas, he was only two, going onto three this year. She had never done anything in Broadchurch to make her a suspect of Danny Latimer's death, Ellie and DI Hardy had arrived at her spacious home, claiming that they had found a match of her fingerprints at the hut where Danny Latimer was before his death.

So now, here she was, trying to tell them the truth.

"Karen Deborah Wolfe, formerly Lee. Married at 19, separated from your ex-husband Zachary Lee at 31 and moved to Broadchurch three years ago with your two children Robyn Ashley Wolfe and Thomas Dylan Wolfe. Owner of the make-up boutique: _Moonlight Cosmetics_." DI Hardy read out her file and she looked down at it, her photo was clipped to the papers. Her jade green eyes, smiling into the camera, her dark brown hair had been short when that photo was taken, about to her shoulders, it was to her waist now. Karen was a beautiful woman, with a strong, slender nose, defining her face as well as full, shaped lips, high cheekbones and a curvy body, her bust was large, larger now due to her continued maternal practices and she was average height, about 5'5. "Care to tell us why your prints where at the hut where Danny had been the night of his death?" He got straight to the point, not letting her beauty effect him.

Karen's eyes snapped back to him, a dark fire in them. "I was living there for three weeks, Beth let me borrow the place to stay while the plumbing in the kitchen was getting fixed."

"Why was your plumbing getting fixed?" DI Hardy asked, jotting a few notes down.

"Um. ." Karen's brows furrowed, trying to remember the exact cause. "I think it was the kitchen sink. . oh! It was the plumbing underneath, a pipe burst while nobody was home. The entire downstairs had been flooded."

"Why was nobody at your house?"

"Well, I was at work that day, my daughter was at school and Thomas was at the minders. I got called by my neighbor who informed me so I closed early and got Tommy and Robby was staying over at Beth Latimer's for a sleepover, with her daughter Chloe." Karen said, sighing.

"What time did you close?"

"At about 2:30."

"Eh, and what time do you normally close?"

"5:30." Karen answered easily.

"And who was the name of the neighbor that called you?" DI Hardy pressed on.

"Gwen Forelli. A wonderful lady. Bit of a flirt." Karen smiled gently, so did Ellie at the mention of the cheeky Italian elder.

"Back to the hut, so you were there for three weeks, yes?"

"Yeah. My insurance company had to send an assessor over and within the week he came and the claim was approved and the decorator's had come and replaced everything."

"And who fixed the plumbing?"

"Mark and Nige." Karen said, sighing, not knowing where he was going to go with this. "Look, is this a formal interview or you two suspecting me?"

"Alright," DI Hardy said, jotting down a few more notes. "Thank you, Ms Wolfe, that will be all for today." He completely ignored her.

Karen blinked, before she stood. "Alright, I hope it was of assistance. Bye then, Detective Inspector, bye Ellie." Karen stormed out, her only thought was, _'arsehole.'_

(..)

"Miller, get Forensics, I want to know how old those prints are, and call that neighbor, see if her story corroborates with Wolfe's and get the name of those decorator's and that insurance company; I want to know when they redecorating and replacing and I want to know exactly when the insurance company was in contact with her, and get Mark Latimer and Nigel Carter. I want to ask them about this. Did you know about this?" Hardy asked in rapid fire mode.

"I'll do what I can; and no, it must have been during the three weeks that Joe, me and the kids were in Florida." Ellie said, flicking through her own notes that she had taken of the interview with Karen. "Why are you getting bent out of shape over this? It's not like Karen is the killer."

Hardy looked at her, "I'm not stopping until I've looked under every stone and pieced together all the evidence until we catch this killer. She may not be the killer, but I'd rather have a lot of evidence and have everyone on their toes. The killer will reveal themselves if we keep the heat on. They'll be pressured and be abnormal about it. Like before, she was eager to give her alibi and was telling us what we wanted to hear."

"She was being a good person." Ellie retorted.

"She was setting up her alibi." Alec stated, not believing a word of it.

Alec walked out without another word as Ellie's jaw clenched and unclenched. One of these days, she was going to beat the shit out of him.

(..)

Karen unlocked the deadbolt and walked through the front door of her home, looking at the baby toys littered all over the large expanse of the foyer, dining room and family room, where Thomas was in his playpen, drinking juice from his sippy cup. "I'm home!" Karen announced and smiled as her son squealed in happiness.

"Mummy!" He screamed, jumping up and down as Karen picked up all the toys and put them away in the family room, picking up her boy.

"Hello, my love. You've been busy today, huh?" She asked and Thomas giggled, knowing his mother would have noticed the mess he made. Karen looked at her little boy, his shaggy blonde hair fell into his deep brown eyes and brushed the collar of his t-shirt, he was absolutely gorgeous; but then again, he looked just like his father, who was too handsome for words; a shame that his personality wasn't as handsome as the rest of him. But not her Tommy; he was just as gorgeous in looks as he was inside and for that, she was glad that he had picked that up from her.

Robyn entered the room, smiling brightly at her mother, "hey, Mum!" Robyn was pleased to see her. Karen turned to look into her daughter's eyes, a genetic twin for her own. Robyn looked exactly like her, despite the fact that she was leaner and more angular than Karen, but she was fifteen, her body was growing. Robyn had inherited Karen's rambunctious streak, she was now at the stage that she thought climbing out windows and sneaking off to parties was acceptable, getting into fights meant that she was tough and having a boyfriend meant that she would validate as a woman and she'd have her _'Bae'_. Sadly, all any of those things did was make for good stories, regrets and mistakes. God only knows how many mistakes Karen made during that confusing time.

"Hi, sweetie. How was school?" Karen asked, smiling at her daughter before pulling her into a hug, cuddling her close as her and her two kids group-hugged.

"It was alright, boring as usual. Got more homework than I care to recount, but I've almost finished it anyway, so I'm good. I gave Tommy some juice just to keep him at bay, I didn't know what time you'd be getting home from the interview. How was that anyway?" Robyn asked, looking up at Karen, who sighed and put Tommy back down and he went back to his sippy cup.

"It was horrible. Asking me about the two weeks were at the hut when the house flooded, what time I got off work and shit like that. It was bullshit. I gave as much information I could, I hope I was able to help." Karen concluded, before she set her keys in the bowl before heading to the kitchen and Robyn followed.

"So are the rumors true?" Robyn asked, leaning against the counter.

"What rumors are they, darlin'?" Karen mused, not really paying attention as she opened the fridge and got some bacon, mushrooms, two garlic cloves and spring onions and she pulled out the cream; all the ingredients for Spaghetti Carbonara.

"That DI Hardy is a flippin' arsehole."

"Language, Robyn Ashley." Karen warned, looking at her daughter, the seriousness in her gaze made Robyn quail inside. Her daughter was her best-friend, but she was first and foremost, her _mother_. It was her duty to be the best mum ever and raise her children right; and the first thing was manners.

"Sorry, Mum." Robyn instantly backed down, one look from Karen was all that was needed to put her in line.

Karen nodded, chopping the vegetables and distributing them in a glass bowl. "But, yes, he is an arsehole. Rude and probably doesn't understand human emotion or just pretends not to have a heart. I wouldn't be surprised if he's some sort of alien." Karen mused, making Robyn laugh.

"Can you imagine, though?" Robyn chortled and the thought of it made Karen giggle.

"But he's thorough. Got to give him his props." Karen added, and Robyn shrugged. "Okay, sweetie, I have to cook. Can you just look after Tommy while I get everything on the stove?" Karen asked.

"Sure, I'll bring my homework in there. Want me to set the table?" Robyn offered.

"What did I do to deserve such a beautiful girl like you?" Karen smiled at Robyn.

"I'd rather not say," Robyn grinned and squealed as Karen playfully whipped her bum with the hand towel.

"Get goin' you!" Karen called after her, laughing gently. Then she sobered as she got to cooking. The little town of Broadchurch had been rocked when Danny's body was found on the beach, Karen had gone to see Beth after the police had visited and she held her as she cried. Robyn had come with her and sat in with Chloe, they were the best of friends.

And now, with the death of Jack and the the townspeople's secrets coming out from behind closed doors. It was becoming harder and harder to trust and live a normal life. Mark's extra-marital activities were out in the open, by none other than Becca herself; now, even she was subjected to the glances and whispers of the townspeople.

Karen sighed, knowing that it wasn't long before she too was subjected to whispers and stares, but she'd do her best, do what's right by Robyn and Thomas.

(..)

As usual, Detective Inspector Alec Hardy had stayed back at the station, pouring over individual files, but he kept looking over Ms Karen Wolfe's. She was quite the troubled youth, had quite a few juvenile offenses, despite cleaning up her act when she had her daughter at 18. There was no real indication that Ms Wolfe was a murderer at all, but they still had to tread lightly. It was the people who never ever seemed like they would be capable of something like this, that were the ones that would murder anyone, given the right circumstances.

He looked at her photo, trying to put himself in her predicament. Single mother of two, owning and managing her own shop, with a mortgage and a dark past; what would Karen Wolfe kill for?

* * *

 **Hi!**

 **If those of you who read the previous version of my Broadchurch fiction, I sort of got excited and my brain pooped out three chapters of events that were going incredibly fast, so I wanted to tone it down, maybe take a different approach when I thought of it even more and I came up with this. Please take the time to read and give me your feedback and constructive criticism.**

 **Favourite/Follow/Review!**

 **~Munsurieya xD**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ _If you don't like the character, pairings or plot, then don't read. There is a slight AU to the story and to some of the characters even though I tried and I'm also sorry for the different ways I say/write things. I know things are different in the UK and I'm from Australia, but I'll try to mind it._

 _ **DISCLAIMER:**_ _I don't own Broadchurch._

 _ **WORD COUNT:**_ _2, 148 (Not including A/N below)_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_

 _ **A Beating**_

* * *

It wasn't often that Karen visited her parents.

She'd been so busy with her own life, she very nearly neglected them simply for the fact that she had no time.

So today, Karen packed the kids in the car and they drove to the other side of town, and now here she was, having a steaming cup of tea with her mother, while Thomas ran around the house, screaming in joy with his grandfather chasing him while Robyn was outside by the pool, enjoying the sunlight.

"So you were interviewed, sweetie?" Josie Wolfe asked, in her thick Scottish accent.

"Yeah, and that bloody Detective Inspector, such an arsehole." Karen growled, looking at Josie from over the rim of her mug.

"Well, be that as it may, that doesn't stop him from looking incredibly handsome." Josie wiggled her eyebrows as Karen's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Mum!" Karen said, putting her mug down.

"What? I have to amuse myself somehow, and your father isn't exactly aging like a fine wine." Josie sniffed, looking nonchalantly at the TV playing in the family room as William looked at his wife in mock-hurt.

"Oi!" William called in his undoubtedly English accent and Josie turned her most charming smile to her husband before he shook his head and went after his grandson.

Karen shook her head also, sighing at her mother's antics before taking another sip of tea. "Jesus, Mum."

"What?" Josie asked, looking bewildered.

"Danny Latimer is _dead_ , Mum! This is not the time to be fawning over the lead Detective on the case. They questioned me, they think I'm a suspect and they're gonna question everyone for my alibi. Think of what it'll look like. The kids. . Beth. . Oh, God. S-she'll think I killed her son. ." Karen burst, keeping her voice low, so her children wouldn't hear her. She didn't need them sad when they were just starting to perk up.

"Listen here, Karen," Josie gently ordered her girl, leaning forward. Josie's elderly jade green eyes staring into the carbon copy of her Karen's, "a boy _is_ dead. But the world needs to keep spinning. Yes, this is a _tragedy_. But we must live on, and that means, we need to be strong. Thinking someone is handsome or being questioned is not staining that boy's memory, nor is it going to harm you in the long run. You're being affected by what everyone else is putting on you, but you have to move forward with your life. I understand that Beth is a very good friend of yours and this is. . .there are no words for what she could possibly be feeling, but if she is so quick to believe that you had any hand in murdering her son, which I know in my heart of hearts, that you didn't, then she isn't much of a friend."

Karen sighed, knowing her mother was right.

"You should never care what strangers think. Never ever care. Why do you think none of those little old ladies never talk to me? Because I moved on with life, so many people stuck on things they could never hope to control, never moving forward. I did what I had to do and I'm better for it. Look at what I got." Josie gestured around the house and looked to her grandchildren, her wonderful husband and beautiful daughter. She also had two elder sons and a younger daughter in Edinburgh with families of their own.

"I know, Mum. It's just hard."

"I know, love. But be brave, people will see what they do unto others and karma always comes full circle." Josie warned, her ginger eyebrows waggling, making Karen chuckle.

"I've missed you, Mum." Karen whispered, leaning over to take her mother's aged hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"I've missed you too, sweetheart. You shouldn't be a stranger around here, your father doesn't like to admit it, but he misses all of his children." Josie smiled nostalgically as she thought of her two boys and girls.

"You could come visit me, stay for a few days and you can be with the kids. I know it's harder on you two, but I don't like coming for one day visits. I want you to spend as much time as possible with my kids." Karen mused, sipping her piping hot tea.

"If you want, we can come next week, on the weekend and we can look after the kids while you put your feet up. I can't imagine how being a single parent must feel. Having to be both mother and father." Josie sympathised, but Karen just smiled.

"I'd rather be a single parent, instead of having that dickhead near my children again." Karen vowed and Josie nodded in agreement.

"Here here."

(..)

Three days after visiting Karen's parents, the Wolfe family found themselves at the boutique. Robyn and Thomas were in the back, Thomas was in his playpen while Robyn browsed on the internet on the computer Karen installed for work purposes, while she nursed her bruised cheek with a ice-pack on it to keep the swelling and bruising to a minimum.

Suffice to say, Karen was livid.

She had been harassed, threatened and followed on the streets by angry mums and dads who jumped to conclusions too easily. She had to pull Thomas out of daycare because she was afraid of something happening to him and Robyn had been bullied incessantly at school.

Karen was in the front, cleaning up the stray hairs on the floor. In addition to doing makeup, she was also a hairstylist and a masseuse and she offered all those things in conjunction as Ellie walked in, looking a little sheepish with DI Hardy. The single mother of two made sure to make her distaste known. "Come to interrogate me at my own establishment have we? My kids are in the back if you want to suspect them too." She went back to doing a sweeping the floors clean of the chopped hair.

"C'mon, Karen, please don't be like that." Ellie softly complained, "we've had enough of that from the others." Both Alec and Ellie walked deeper into the boutique, the door closing behind them.

"Oh, really? _You've_ had enough? What about me? I've become the damn new pariah for this bloody town since I was called in for questioning. Everyone demanding about my life before I came to Broadchurch, like they deserve to know my bloody past." Karen snarled, "they've even told me that they want me to end up the same way as Jack!" Her breathing became heavier as Karen started to get angrier.

"Ms. Wolfe-" Alec started, but he was cut off by a raging Karen.

"You don't know what they did to my daughter!" Both Ellie and Alec stopped, their eyes wide as the door to the office opened and Robyn emerged, still holding the now-warm ice pack to her face.

"Mum, it's gone warm." She slowly lifted the pack off her cheek and the purple bruise was there for all to see, slightly elevated from the swelling and the cut still prominent where the girl's ring had cut Robyn. "Hello, Ellie, Detective Inspector Hardy."

"Hi, Robby." Ellie breathed.

"Good afternoon, Robyn." Alec was more formal, but his eyes roamed over Robyn's cheek.

Karen turned, ignoring the shocked expressions of both DS Miller and DI Hardy as she took the pack, "there's another one in the fridge, next to Tommy's sippy cup. Let me have a look, petal." It was Karen's nickname for her ever since she was a child and Robyn would always pick the petals off the flowers from their backyard and throw them up in the air. She used to come back inside with rose petals in her hair. Alec didn't miss the soft hint of her Scottish heritage when her lips curved around the word. "It's looking better, the swelling's gone down. Go get the other ice-pack, okay?"

"Alright, Mum." Robyn smiled to her mother before she walked back inside to the office, shutting the door behind her.

"Oh my God." Ellie whispered, pressing a hand to her mouth.

"Who did that?" Alec asked as Karen turned.

She expected him to look uninterested, uncaring, but she was surprised to see him, his brown eyes blazing and his expression contorted into one of rage. "One of the girls at Robyn's school, said she had no business showing up to school since she has the face of a murderer. I assume they meant because my little girl looks like me."

"Do you know the girl's name?"

"Jenny Ross' kid, Angelica. That bitch doesn't live up to her name, I can tell you that right fucking now." Karen snarled, her jade eyes alight with a dark fire, the fire of a lioness protecting her cub.

"Where was the teachers in all of this? The principal?" Alec asked, his voice getting louder with every word.

"What are they gonna do? They believe I'm the one that killed Danny! Over what? A fucking interview. Suddenly I'm a fucking hellspawn that needs to jump off a cliff. I've made multiple complaints over the past two days, but what more can I do?!" Karen hissed, dropping the broom as she stood in front of both detectives, "my whole life is being picked apart because of this bullshit. I won't stand for it. My children are in jeopardy, they're in danger if this continues and I swear to God, I'm not going to let that happen."

"What do you mean your whole life is being picked apart?" Ellie asked.

Karen just scoffed, "haven't you read the paper this morning?" She walked to the front desk, near the register and showed them the paper.

In bold black print, the headline wrote, ' _ **Karen Wolfe: Her Past of Abuse. Have the Tables Turned Violently?'**_

"You were-" Ellie started but Alec cut her off, his hand twitching ever so slightly. He felt a burning rage in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know why he felt that way, but he did.

"You were abused?" Alec growled between gritted teeth.

Karen didn't say a word, she just watched them, looking down and she tossed the morning paper back to its original spot, before turning her eyes back to the detectives, "what are you two doing here? You wouldn't be here if it was something important, unless you're trying to ruin what life I have left here." She dodged around the question. It obviously something she didn't want to answer, so Alec didn't push it, much to Ellie's shock.

Alec lifted a Manila envelope from inside his coat and opened it, pulling out the necessary documents, "we came today, to tell you that you are no longer under suspicion of the death of Daniel Latimer. Your prints are on the hut but they've been dated to be around the time you had been staying in there. Gwen Forelli's interview also matches with yours, your insurance company also provided a statement, backing up your story, just as much and Mark and Nigel Carter did. I'll make a formal statement to the press and hopefully the wild hounds will stop coming after your family. You don't deserve this. Your family doesn't deserve this."

Karen's eyes widened and in two steps, she bounded forward and wrapped her arms around Alec's shoulders, making Ellie gasp, "thank you so much. The both of you."

"Eh. . Miller. ." Alec called helplessly, but Ellie just stood off to the side, a shit-eating grin on her face at her boss' social ineptness to be affectionate.

"It's a bloody hug, Detective Inspector, it's not gonna kill ya." Karen murmured, her lips gently brushed against his earlobe.

Alec fought down the pleasurable shudder that wanted to rock through him.

He hadn't been with a woman since the divorce and it was so tempting to take the gorgeous woman that was Karen Wolfe.

In due time.

* * *

 **Hello, my lovelies!**

 **I know, I know!**

 **It's been a long time since I've updated and yes, I'm updating old stories, continuing them. This is only the start, I hope you like _this_ chapter of The Wolfe and the Detective. Gives a little more insight into Karen's life and what's happened to her and now we see a little of attraction developing with Alec.**

 **Do tell me what you think, I welcome all criticism, although, mindless flames will be deleted because I do not need negativity in my life ;P**

 **Until next time, guys!**


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